Disney Rumors for October 2025

So, yeah. Destination D23 2025 was a bust, which I had anticipated.

The moment Disney confirmed that it wasn’t hosting a theme park panel, the die was cast.

Why Disney did that, I’ll never know, but I’m confident the company, in its infinite wisdom, had good reasons.

Now, we’re left dealing with the fallout of tons of Disney Rumors that didn’t get announced last month.

We also have the reality of a few confirmations coming soon.

Why is that? Let’s talk through some of it in Disney Rumors for October 2025.

Fans Are Angry                   

Look, I get it. When Disney announces a major D23 event, we all have expectations.

So, when the presentation ends without any major theme park news, it’s a frustrating feeling.

I didn’t even write Disney Rumors last month due to the timing and the irritation of fans.

You would have all raged at what didn’t happen, which would have been totally valid.

I was just as annoyed once I realized Disney wasn’t going to use D23 for, you know, D23 stuff.

Sure, the panels are always great, but Disney has trained fans to expect theme park announcements.

We didn’t get those at the 2025 Destination D23 event, which irritated a lot of diehard fans.

Having said that, this year’s news blackout isn’t comparable to others we’ve had in the 2020s.

Disney didn’t offer blue-sky theoreticals that were really just audience surveys. No, we’re getting stuff now.

The expansion era is fully underway, with countless changes happening across Disney’s American parks.

Currently, the only two places where construction is NOT taking place are EPCOT and Disneyland Park.

Since Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Disney California Adventure, and Magic Kingdom are working in multiple areas, there’s a staggering stat right now.

There’s a Reason

Disney is building an average of more than one expansion per American park, which is historically unprecedented.

As a reminder, here’s everything happening right now:

• Disney California Adventure — Avengers Campus expansion
• Disney California Adventure — Avatar themed land
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom – the Tropical Americas expansion
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios – Monstropolis expansion
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios – The Walt Disney Studios expansion
• Magic Kingdom – Cars area at Frontierland
• Magic Kingdom – Villains Land

That’s seven projects occurring across four of Disney’s six American theme parks.

So, expansion is ongoing, which negates the need to announce new projects.

Then, we have the Animation Courtyard aspect of the conversation, as Disney just revealed that.

The company could have waited until Destination D23 to announce those changes but didn’t.

We’re all being a bit disingenuous to pretend that Disney’s not making exciting changes at the parks.

The aggravation stems from the fact that Disney hosted a highly anticipated event without any huge announcements.

That’s 100 percent the purpose of D23. Since it didn’t happen, nobody’s quite sure what to expect next.

Is Anything Being Announced Soon?

I didn’t publish an omnibus of all rumored Disney projects on the table this year, but I could have.

Some of those possibilities from 2024 remain in play even though nobody is saying anything yet.

As an example, I have a high level of confidence that Animal Kingdom will add more than the Tropical Americas.

That Lion King boat ride at Disneyland Paris could still find its way to Animal Kingdom.

Similarly, should Zootopia 2 perform well at the box office, we’re getting a Zootopia themed land.

Animal Kingdom makes the most sense, although Disney has been full of surprises lately.

At EPCOT, changes at Journey into Imagination with Figment will happen one day.

The only question we should ask is when, as it could still be a few years.

Disney officials can’t decide what to do with Figment as a character, not just as a theme park ride.

I’d hoped for confirmation of a ride reboot, along with clarity about the Spaceship Earth update.

We got neither, which raises the specter of a new style of Disney theme park news cycle.

Disney may be moving away from a single event of huge reveals in favor of updates throughout the year.

Alternatively, this whole thing could reflect that Josh D’Amaro is currently campaigning to become Disney CEO.

He may have just been too busy for D23 this year, but he wasn’t about to let somebody else handle the gig.

I lean toward that explanation, as I expect D23 2026 to return to Disney’s typical schedule of big reveals.

If anything, the company may be moving away from Destination D23 as a theme park announcement apparatus.

Pre-D23 Announcements Still Count

Still, we can draw a few conclusions just from the work that MickeyBlog’s excellent reporters have done.

For starters, the closure of Animation Courtyard is a bigger deal than you may think.

The Walt Disney Studios appears likely to reinvigorate this central location at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

When Disney surprised us all with the news, the expectation was that it’d be a smaller project.

Now that Star Wars Launch Bay has closed, Disney has already put up planters in the area.

At this point, only The Little Mermaid – A Musical Adventure is accessible, which tells the whole story.

Imagineers will do more here than just bring back The Magic of Disney Animation.

Disney will breathe new life into this entire area, which it should. As I’ve mentioned, it’s valuable real estate.

The former Animation Courtyard resides in the heart of the main strip of Hollywood Studios.

Disney should maximize the value of this space, which the re-themed Animation Courtyard area promises to do.

Imagineers are doing the same thing at the former Courtyard, whose land value increased in 2019.

That’s when Disney opened Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. Since then, more people walk through this area.

Not coincidentally, the lack of appeal of Muppets Courtyard evolved into a more pressing concern.

The arrival of Monstropolis should solve that problem, as Monsters, Inc. is a better brand.

Also, as much as I adored Muppets Courtyard, modern audiences prefer Mike and Sulley.

Besides, a roller coaster will always hold more appeal at a theme park than a show-based attraction.

The Holding Pattern

At Magic Kingdom, Disney probably won’t reveal any new attractions for a while. They’re coming, though.

By landlocking the former Rivers of America, park planners have unlocked a lot of previously inaccessible space.

While Tom Sawyer Island clearly served a purpose, the rivers prevented a better use of space.

Disney can do more with this land now, but the company won’t announce anything for a while.

That’s the odd part of the situation currently unfolding at Disney. We have a finite number of Imagineers.

With this many projects currently underway, Disney’s not in a rush to promise even more.

Like, I haven’t even mentioned the current refurbishments of Spaceship Earth and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.

Those are MUCH larger projects than typical builds. So, Disney must finish some stuff before announcing more.

It’s Gonna Be a While

Until that happens, we’re in this unprecedented spot where we’re all just waiting to see what happens next.

The closest thing to this occurred when Hollywood Studios added Galaxy’s Edge and Toy Story Land.

Even then, Disney was really only performing significant work at two parks: Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.

Pandora – The World of Avatar had finished by then, and EPCOT’s reboot was really just getting started.

This is uncharted territory for Disney. So, while it makes Disney Rumors articles a bit challenging, I get it.

Disney currently has too much in the queue right now to stretch its Imagineers any further.

Right now, the most interesting Disney story is one that doesn’t even really involve Disney.

Disneyland Resort may add a gondola system, but it won’t be up to Disney.

Anaheim and Los Angeles elected officials would decide that one, along with the Olympic Committee’s finance department.

So, we’re where we’re going to be for a while. Disney’s at maximum occupancy with its Imagineers right now.

Any big announcement in the short term would likely come from an external source in Southern California.

Disney’s already doing everything it can at the moment.

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Feature Photo: Disney